Log-splitting gun



Patented Apr. 14,

MON.

nos-summits own.

a lication filed October as, 1924. semi no. traces. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn A. Wnesnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vancouver, in the county of Clarke and State oflVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Log-Splitting Guns, of which the following is a speciiication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. a

This invention relates to means for splitting wood, and particularly to a wood splitting gun, that is a device adapted to con tain an explosive charge, which device is adapted to the charge is exploded and then the charge exploded to split the wood.

in the timbered portions of this country, and in fact wherever wood is being worked up into products, particula y cord wood, the splitting involves considera le labor and in some cases where the wood is of a particularly tough kind, splitting by means of wedges becomes practically impossible. Many e1? -forts have been made to split wood, particularly the larger logs, has been done by boring into the'log and tamping a charge of powder into the hole. This method, however, is very unsatisfactory because of the amount of labor involved in boring the hole in the wood, placing the charge, and iurtheron account of the fact that very often a-niere piece of the wood will he blown ofi without doing the required splitting. Guns have been devised for the purpose, none of which have been successful, however, for one reason because the gun would be liable to break or'be shattered at the same time as the log was shattered.

The object of this invention is to provide a gun, as it may he termed, of a very simple character, which is so constructed that it may be driven into the log in the same manner as a wedge is driven into a log, the gang being of sufiiciently hard steel so that it will withstand the driving action and penetrate the hardest wood, this gun being hollow and containing a charge and having means whereby the charge may be tired.

A further object is to provide a gun of this character which is so constructed that the wood into which the gun is driven will form the wadding which closes up the mouth of the explosion chamber, the explosion of the char e driving this wedding forward, as it roignt be termed, and blowing the log be forced into the wood before with explosive. This to pieces, the outside of the gun being supported during the explosion by the tension of the wood into which the gun is driven.

A still further object is "to ap ly this same princi le to a gun to be used or'splitting slabs rom logs.

Uther objects will appear in the course of the following descri tron.

My invention is i lustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 1s a side elevation of a log split- I ting gun constructed in accordance with'my invention; 1 I

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-*-2 or Fl re 1;

igure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; 7

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of the forward or magazine end of the slabbing .Reierring to these drawings, it will be seen that my log splitting gunv comprises a cylindrical body 10 which is tapered, as at 11, at one end and which is formed with a longitudinally extendin bore 12 extending inward from the tapered end and a counterbore 13 extending longitudinally from the inner endof the main bore 12, and that there is a fuse hole it extending inward from the side of the bodyand having a reduced ex-' tension 15 extending from this main fuse hole 1% intothe reduced chamber 13. It will .j

be seen thatbeyond the chamber 13 there is provided a driving head of solid metal.

In the use of this device, the gun is driven into the wood nearly as far'as'the fuse hole 14, the magazine formed by the bore and counterbore l9 and 13 heing charged with powder or other explosive. As the gun is forced inward into the wood, the tapered extremity will wedge the fibers of the wood apart and the tapered extremity will act like a punch, punching a round core a out ofithe log A, this round core acting as a wedding. The powder or other explosive is preferably contained within the magazirie orcharnber 13. The wadding will extend up into the chamber 12 to an extent depending upon the degree to which the gun is forced into the wood. Upon the explosion of the charge, the wedding is forced out and the log is split,

will

the tension of the wood which grips the wedge very tightly acting to prevent th wedge being forced out, 4

l have by continued experiments estab-- strength and proportions" which permit the instrument to be articularly effective in actual practice. Tlie standard size of this device Will be eighteen inches-long and preferably the gun will be madepf a bar of chrome nickel steel and the gun will be one and five-eighths. inches in diameter. The hole in the bore 12 will be eleven-sixteenths inches in diameter and drilled inward seven inches deep and from this will extend the smaller bore 13 which will be nine-sixteenths inches in diameter and drilled inward two inches. The fuse hole 14 isthree-sixteenths inches and drilled in one-eighth of an inch into the steel with a smaller hole extending from the end of the main hole into the magazine 13. The-tapered portion of the gun is one direction or laterally four inches in length with the proportions above given and tapered from the full size of the steel down to seven-ei hths of an inch. For larger-and heavier exp osions the gun will be made eighteen inches in length and two and a half inches cross'sect-ional diame ter. The bore 12 will be nine inches deep and one inch in diameter and the tapered magazine will be three inches deep and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The point taper will be four and a half inches and tapered from the full size of the steel two and a half inches to one and one eighth inches. A smaller size than eighteen inches long and one and five-eighths inches diameter may be used for splitting small sticks such as ordinarily sixteen-inch wood. The charge may be ignited either with a fuse, a battery, or a hot point.

In- Figure 4 I show a modification of my invention forming what may be termed a slabbing gun, which is exactly the same as the form illustrated except that about onehalfof the tapered portion 11 is cut away, as at 16, so that the explosion escapes in and throws the slab ofi' the stick.

I regard the pro rtions-above given as being particularly lmportant, inasmuch as I have only arrived at these proportions by continued experiments. 'At the same time,

obviously, I do not wish to be limited to these exact proportions as these might be changed within small limits without departing om=the spirit of-tlie invention as defined 1n the appended claims.

1. A wood splitting gun comprising a i body of hard steel'tapered at one end whereby it may be driven into a log, the body beln' formed'with a longitudinally extending ore extending ap roximately half the length of the body an designed to contain acha'rge and the body having an ignition opening extending laterally into the bore from the exterior of the body.

'2. A- wood splitting fun comprising a body of hard steel tapere ne end where- 'by 1t may be driven into a log, the body being formed with a longitudinally extending bore extending approximately half the length of the body and designed to contain a charge, the body having means whereby the charge within the bore may be ignited.

3. A wood splitting gun of the character described comprising a body of hard steel cylindrical in cross section and uniformly tapered toward one end, the body having a bore extending longitudinally of the body from said tapered end whereby the body ma be driven into the wood to be split,-

an an extension from the inner end of -the bore longitudinally: of the body smaller in diameter than the ore and constituting a charge chamber, there being a fuse opening extending inward from the surface of the body into said discharge chamber.

4. A wood splitting gun of the character.

described comprising a cylindrical body tapered uniformly toward one end from a point intermediate the ends of the body, the body being formed with a longitudinally extending bore extending inward from said bapered ends, and a counterbore constituting an explosion: chamber, the, bore and counterbore mately half way of the body whereby the remainder of the body constitutes a driving head,'there being a fuse opening extending radially inward front the surface of the body into the explosion chamber, the tapered portion of the body being cut away for half the length of the tapered portion on one face so as to causea lateral opening from the bore.

' In testimony whereof hereiinto afiix my..

I JOSEPH A. WEBBER."

signature. 

